


Tessellations

by oregonienne



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Autistic OC, F/M, Fluff, very mild sexual tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 14:10:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11359089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oregonienne/pseuds/oregonienne
Summary: Prompt fills for my Alekte and Quinn from tumblr, in and around and before the events of Passion and Fury.





	1. Chapter 1

“Malavai, you look terrible.”

Quinn jumped. It was nothing new for him to be startled by finding his wife suddenly standing next to him and breaking his concentration, but he was usually able to control his reaction more easily. But today he’d woken up with a thick fog in his head that he hadn’t been able to clear no matter what he tried. He knew he was sick, there was no getting around that; but there was work to be done.

“It’s nothing, my love. I’ll be fine.”

Alekte considered that for a moment, then shook her head. “No. You are going to rest.”

Quinn knew that tone all too well. There was little point to arguing when she’d decided on something, but sometimes… “My lord, we’ll be arriving on Rishi in two days, and I –”

He looked up from his datapad, but Alekte was already on her way out of the bridge. She stopped and turned around just before she reached the door. “Captain Quinn, I am going to the medbay to get a few things. If you are still in here when I’m done, I will pick you up and carry you to bed, don’t think for a minute that I won’t.” And with that, she was out the door.

Quinn had never tested one of these threats before, and he didn’t intend to start now. Taking his datapad with him – she hadn’t said anything about that – he went to their quarters and changed out of his uniform. He was in his sleep pants, sitting on the bed with his datapad in hand, when Alekte entered.

“I wasn’t specific enough, was I?” she said, eyeing him with a frown that he knew was insincere. She set a glass of water and a bottle of pills on his bedside table, then came around and sat next to him.

“No, you were not,” he said with a little smile. But now that he was back in bed, he found that he was more tired than he’d wanted to admit, and when Alekte held out her hand for the datapad, he gave it to her without protest.

Alekte scrolled through the datapad. “You’re trying to find what might be calling us to Rishi, yes?”

“Yes,” he answered, opening the pill bottle and shaking out a couple. “I’ve had no luck so far, but there has to be something.”

Alekte nodded. “I can take care of this. You get some rest. I’m going to need you with me when we get there.”

Quinn groaned in protest into the water glass as he swallowed the pills.

Alekte laughed and took his hand, kissing it gently. “That is exactly why I want you with me. I already know I won’t like it there, and I’d much rather have someone who will commiserate instead of trying to get me to enjoy it.”

“Well, I can certainly do that,” Quinn said as he settled in to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

There was nothing Alekte liked about Tatooine. It was too bright, too hot, and much too full of sand. She did not understand why anyone, even a Jedi, would live here on purpose. And now she had to go and find a sand demon, which was exactly the kind of ridiculous abomination a place like this would have.

She and Quinn had left the outpost very early in the day to avoid the worst of the heat, and arriving at the cave, parked their speeders far enough inside to leave them in the shade. It wasn’t as bright or as hot inside, but the smell was terrible. To add to her list of complaints, there was a maddening itch that had sprung up between Alekte’s shoulders that she couldn’t reach. She rolled her shoulders irritably, hoping that some friction with her armor would solve the problem, but it only seemed to make it worse.

“Is something wrong, my lord?” said Quinn, coming up beside her.

“It’s nothing, just…oh, hell.” Alekte began to undo a row of clasps along the side of her armor. Quinn coughed delicately and took a step back. She didn’t want to put him in this position, but that blasted itch would drive her to distraction if she let it go on. “Quinn, I’m sorry, but would you please…there’s an itch in the middle of my back that I can’t reach, and it is going to drive me insane.”

“Of course, my lord,” he said quietly, as he slipped his hand between her armor and the thin shirt she wore under it.

Alekte felt her face flush as she directed him to the spot. She was relieved he couldn’t see her face; even though she could have passed it off as the heat, she was fairly certain Sith were not supposed to blush. She’d made her interest in him plain, or so she thought, but she hadn’t wanted to make him uncomfortable. Still, she never stopped hoping it was mutual.

“There – that’s it, there,” she said, and as Quinn withdrew his hand, she allowed herself to enjoy the sensation of his hand moving down her back. She started to reach over to see to the clasps on her armor, but Quinn got there first.

“Allow me, my lord,” he said, carefully refastening the clasps from just under her arm, all the way down to the top of her hip. Alekte mumbled her assent, and she thought she might have imagined it, but it did seem like his hands lingered as they made their way down her side.

“Better?” Quinn asked, coming to her side again.

“Yes,” she said, glancing at him quickly, almost furtively. She could still feel the warmth in her face. “Thank you.”

He nodded, looking ahead into the cave. He was quiet for a few long moments before he spoke. “This sand demon shouldn’t be too far ahead of us, my lord, judging by the smell,” he said.

“Or it’s still a long way ahead of us, and the stench is just that powerful,” Alekte countered with a grim smile. “I will be very happy when we can return to the ship and leave this horrible place behind.” She drew her lightsabers and made her way forward.

“You’ll hear no argument from me, my lord,” said Quinn as he followed.


	3. Chapter 3

Alekte blinked slowly. She had no idea what Oggurobb was talking about anymore, and she was too tired to care. Even under the most ideal circumstances, she had a terrible time paying attention if someone could not be bothered to get straight to the point, and this Hutt was more adept than most Sith at talking in wide circles around whatever point he might eventually get to. 

Oggurobb might have been too caught up in his meandering monologue to notice anyone else, but her fatigue and inattention had not gone entirely unnoticed.

“Commander?” said Lana, nudging her gently. Alekte took in a sharp breath and sat up straighter. Lana gave her an apologetic look and pointed across her to Theron.

To her other side, she saw that Theron was sitting up stock straight but had his eyes closed, and if she wasn’t entirely mistaken, was snoring softly. Alekte gave him a firm poke to the arm and he coughed, his eyes flying open. _If I have to stay awake for this, so do you_ , she thought.

After a few more minutes of the Hutt’s droning, Lana finally found an opening to suggest resuming the discussion – if it could be called that – after they’d all had a chance to rest. With surprisingly few words, the Hutt agreed, and shuffled off back to his lab.

“Thank you, Lana,” said Alekte as she stood slowly. The day had been nothing but meeting after interminable meeting, and she was exhausted. “I’m glad one of my advisors can be awake and diplomatic for me,” she said, giving Theron another poke.

“I’m awake. Now.” Theron swatted at Alekte’s hand as he stood, and they made their way out of the room and down the hallway. Theron palmed open the door to his room, and gave them a wave over his shoulder as it closed behind him.

“Theron and I can finish up with the doctor in the morning,” said Lana as they continued toward Alekte’s rooms. “We’ll see you and Major Quinn at 0900 for the strategy meeting.”

Alekte nodded her thanks. “Goodnight, Lana. Go sleep,” she said as she entered her rooms, closing the door behind her.

Malavai sat on the couch, one datapad in his hand and three more on the table in front of him. She still couldn’t quite believe he was really here, and she stood and watched him until he looked up at her with a tired smile.

“You’re not in bed,” she said, dropping onto the couch next to him. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in, and she settled against him happily.

“Not without you, darling,” he said, kissing her gently and squeezing her shoulders.

“What’s this?” Alekte asked, tapping the edge of the datapad.

“The last of the briefings,” he said, stifling a yawn. “I’ve been going over these all day, but I’m nearly done.”

“How ‘nearly’?” she asked, holding back a yawn of her own. “You’ve got the thing, but it’s later.”

Malavai smiled. He’d missed everything about his wife, including the way she spoke when she was this tired. After their time apart, there were probably others who could manage to decipher her meaning, but not as well as he could.

“The strategy meeting?” he asked, and Alekte nodded. “When?”

She gave a long, sleepy sigh. “Nine,” she said, stretching her legs out on the couch. “What – when is it now?”

“Half past two,” he answered, earning an indistinctly muttered complaint. 

Before, this would have been the time when she trudged off to bed by herself, leaving him to follow in his own time. There was no argument or resentment in it; it was just what they did. But just now, he couldn’t bear for her to leave, even to go only a few meters away. He didn’t know if it was the years he’d been without her or something else, but he needed her there.

Still, she was the commander, and she needed her rest. “You need to sleep, my love,” he said gently, reluctantly.

Alekte made no move to stand, but instead slid down to rest her head in his lap, as unwilling to be without him as he was to be without her. Malavai smiled, and stroked her hair as she fell asleep.


End file.
